The opposition lowdown: Atletico Madrid
Opposition viewDermot Corrigan, Spanish football expert (The Athletic)On Atletico’s start to the season in La Liga…There was a lot of excitement and optimism around Atletico after over €150m spent on new players this summer, but much of that drained away as the team took just two points from their first three La Liga games.Diego Simeone’s team played well in some moments of those games, but kept giving away poor goals, and confidence around the squad was hit. Last weekend’s 2-0 win over Villarreal, however, lifted spirits, though they are already seven points behind leaders and neighbours Real Madrid in La Liga, which was not the start they hoped for.On head coach Simeone’s style of play and formation…Simeone is famous for his team’s hard work and defensive grit - especially from the Atletico sides which reached the 2014 and 2016 Champions League finals.Over the years the squad has evolved - with old warriors like Diego Godin and Gabi moving on, and more technical players such as Julian Alvarez and excellent home-grown midfielder Pablo Barrios becoming the most important in the team.Atletico are third of all La Liga teams for possession this season with 56.2 per cent (just behind Real Madrid, who have 56.3 per cent) over their four games so far. They have generally lined up in a 4-4-2 system so far this term, although Simeone has often played 3-5-2 over the last few seasons, and could line up that way at Anfield.On which players Liverpool should be keeping an eye out for…Atletico’s most important signings this summer included USA national team midfielder Johnny Cardoso, Spain international playmaker Alex Baena, Slovakia defender David Hancko and Argentina attacking midfielder Thiago Almada.All four could miss the game at Anfield due to injury - only Hancko travelled and he’s a doubt. Former Manchester City attacker Julian Alvarez also got injured last weekend at home to Villarreal - so Simeone’s options are really limited for this game.On the view in Madrid ahead of the game…Starting the Champions League league phase at Anfield was always going to be a big challenge for Atletico. Given the poor start to the season, and all the injuries, there is quite a bit of concern among the team’s fans and pundits ahead of Wednesday evening.Simeone’s side, however, have often performed well against the odds with their backs against the wall - as they did when eliminating Liverpool from the 2019-20 competition and also winning 2-1 at Paris Saint-Germain in last year’s league phase.Team newsAtletico named an official 22-man travelling squad for the visit to Merseyside.As expected, Alvarez and Cardoso have not made the trip from Madrid, while Almada, Baena and Jose Maria Gimenez will also be absent for the La Liga outfit.What they saidAtletico head coach Simeone“We play against an extraordinary opponent in a magnificent stadium with unbelievable fans, a coach that took his team to the top level. They competed very well in the Champions League last season and won the league.“We have a tough opponent but we will try to hurt them in the game whenever we can.“Liverpool are direct, very quick transitions, they interpret the game in a very simple way, they use their wide players and they have a wonderful centre-back who can knock the ball around.“Simplicity of the game isn’t something everyone sees. It shows you how hard they work and how good their footballers are.”Pre-match stats- Simeone has been in charge of Atletico since December 2011 and has managed them to two wins and two losses against Liverpool previously.- The Reds and Atletico have clashed on eight previous occasions and claimed three victories apiece.- Atletico have won four of their last 14 away matches in this competition, defeating Feyenoord, PSG, Sparta Prague and Red Bull Salzburg.- Overall, they have met English teams 39 times previously, winning 14, drawing 14 and losing 11.
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